A strained supply chain leaves existing stockpiles as the only way for Kyiv to get missiles ahead of winter. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has urged member states to donate Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine from their own stockpiles, with replacements to be paid for later by an EU loan – but conceded that no government had yet signed up. With a fifth wartime winter on the horizon, Ukraine is desperate for more Patriot missiles to counter intense aerial attacks on key infrastructure. But stocks of the key interceptors are running low worldwide. "On the interceptors, unfortunately, there were no new pledges made today,” Kallas told reporters after a meeting of EU defense ministers on Monday. “So, many were pleading for this swap. Let us see what comes out of it." The proposal aims to bring immediate relief to Ukraine's stretched air defenses at a time of intensifying Russian missile strikes. The EU has already approved €28.3 billion in weapons purchases for Kyiv under its Ukraine Support Loan, including Patriot missiles from future US production. But squeezed by demand from a warring US and a Ukraine under daily bombardment, the Patriot supply chain has clogged, despite efforts to rapidly expand it. That leaves existing stockpiles as the only feasible way for Kyiv to get missiles ahead of winter and a widely anticipated Russian campaign against heating and power infrastructure. "Missile production takes time, and Kyiv needs Patriots now," Kallas said. Kallas has made the appeal before. "We are making this plea again," she said as she arrived for the meeting. Why Patriots matter The US-made Patriot is the main weapon Ukraine has that can reliably intercept Russian ballistic missiles, which Moscow often fires alongside swarms of cheap drones designed to overwhelm air defenses. "Air defense remains the key priority for Ukraine. We see the attacks every day," Kallas said. But Western governments were wary of draining their own Patriot stocks for Ukraine even before the US war with Iran. Since that war began in February, it has reportedly used up as much as three-fifths of US Patriot stocks, and US and NATO officials told the Associated Press in August that the US shortage of advanced interceptors in Europe had become "beyond critical". Pressure has fallen in particular on Spain and Greece, which other European capitals have urged to give Ukraine their older interceptor variants. Relief is still years away. Lockheed Martin, the sole maker of the advanced PAC-3 MSE interceptor, agreed with the Pentagon in January to more than triple annual output from around 600 missiles to roughly 2,000, but does not expect to reach that rate until the end of 2030. Frozen funds released EU ministers did agree on how to distribute €6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility, an off-budget EU fund that partly reimburses member states for weapons sent to Kyiv. The money had been frozen for more than two years by a Hungarian veto under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which was dropped after Péter Magyar replaced him this summer. The bulk will reimburse governments that have been waiting for payouts, with €1 billion set aside for joint procurement and some funding for training Ukrainian soldiers. Several countries have pledged to pass their reimbursements straight to Ukraine, and Kallas urged the rest to follow. Many ministers also called for bringing forward parts of the EU's €90 billion loan to Ukraine earmarked for 2027, Kallas said, adding that Kyiv could also benefit from up to €20 billion in unused funds from SAFE, the bloc's defense loan scheme.
